President Robert O. Kelley, Presiding
Alma Mater
Hail to thee, O Alma Mater!
Hail to thee with heart and
tongue!
Pride we feel and love yet
greater
While we raise our grateful
song.
Home of lofty thought and
learning,
Beacon o’er our western land,
Shrine whence still the ever-
burning
Torch is passed from hand to
hand.

Chester Fritz Distinguished Professors
The Chester Fritz Distinguished Professorships were
established with an endowment gift from the late UND
benefactor Chester Fritz, 1892-1983. Revenue from the
endowment provides for cash stipends to one or more fulltime UND faculty members, who thereafter may use the
title “Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor.” Nominations
are solicited from members of the Council of Deans and the
Chester Fritz Distinguished Professors; these are evaluated
by a committee chaired by the graduate dean and
composed of three Chester Fritz Distinguished Professors
and faculty representatives from each academic college not
represented by a Fritz Professor. The recommendations are
reviewed by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and
forwarded to the President for final decision.

Chester Fritz attended UND from 1908 to 1910. He
became an international trader in precious metals and
lived most of his life in China and Europe. In establishing
the endowment for the professorships — just one of his
many gifts to UND — as an “investment in the future of
my Alma Mater and of the people who make the future
what it shall be.” He added, “I am especially indebted
to the fine teachers who, in the end, have determined in
large measure, how well I was able to learn and to use
the knowledge that the University of North Dakota could
provide.”
Chester Fritz Distinguished Professors currently serving
on the faculty include:
James Antes, Psychology
Michael C. Beard, English
Holly Brown-Borg, Pharmacology, Physiology and
Therapeutics
Edward C. Carlson, Anatomy and Cell Biology
Sandra Donaldson, English
F. Richard Ferraro, Psychology
Michael J. Gaffey, Space Studies
Jonathan Geiger, Pharmacology, Physiology and
Therapeutics
William D. Gosnold Jr., Geology & Geological Engineering
Birgit Hans, Indian Studies
Joseph Hartman, Geology and Geological Engineering
Mark R. Hoffmann, Chemistry
Gordon Iseminger, History
Michael Mann, Chemical Engineering
James E. Mitchell, Neuroscience
Thomas Mohr, Physical Therapy
Myrna R. Olson, Teaching and Learning
Leon F. Osborne, Atmospheric Sciences
Thomas V. Petros, Psychology
Michael Poellot, Atmospheric Sciences
Isaac Schlosser, Biology
Wayne Seames, Chemical Engineering

2

The 2011 Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor
A University of North Dakota scholar has been selected to receive the Chester Fritz Distinguished
Professorship, UND’s highest academic accolade. Roxanne Vaughan (Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology) was nominated and supported for this coveted honor by her colleagues and academic dean.
An endowment established by the late UND benefactor Chester Fritz provides for a cash stipend and
a medallion to be worn on ceremonial occasions. This award recognizes “demonstrated achievement
across research, teaching, and service with significant national or regional recognition in any of these
missions.” The award also recognizes outstanding professional contributions throughout an academic
career. The first Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor was named in 1973. Just 65 individuals —
including this year’s selectee — have been designated Fritz Professors.

ROXANNE VAUGHAN

lum. Her extensive record of professional activities
includes serving as associate editor of the Journal of
Neurochemistry.

A professor of biochemistry and molecular biology,
Roxanne Vaughan has been instrumental in building
an internationally recognized research program and is
known for her collaborative efforts. She is an expert
in the biochemistry of the dopamine transporter, DAT,
and its role in drug addiction.

“Dr. Vaughan teaches her students the way she researches in her lab,” wrote another nominator. “Exploration is encouraged, but good things do not come
without a lot of hard work and effort … Her students
often receive exceptionally impressive national
awards and publish their manuscripts in notable peerreviewed journals.”

Since joining the UND faculty, Vaughan has authored
or co-authored 28 research publications and 11 invited
articles or book chapters. She has published articles
in such highly respected journals as The Journal of
Biological Chemistry, Neuroscience, and the Journal of
Neuroscience.

A colleague concurred: “Roxanne is an outstanding
mentor for graduate students. Her veteran research
group provides an ideal learning environment. Great
science is done, and great science gets published …
Students from Roxanne’s lab have set the bar high for
others in our graduate program.”

“Dr. Vaughan’s success at obtaining and renewing
extramural funding is exceptional,” noted one nominator. “She is one of a very few investigators in the
SMHS (School of Medicine and Health Sciences) who
have consistently been funded with NIH (National
Institutes of Health) RO1s in the past 12 years, and
currently she holds two awards from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse. Dr. Vaughan’s successes in
the laboratory have led to invitations to speak at prestigious national conferences.”

Vaughan received her B.S. in biology from Colorado
State University in 1976, her M.A. in zoology from
the University of California at Davis in 1980, and her
Ph.D. in zoology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University in 1985. She was a postdoctoral
fellow in the Department of Biological Chemistry at
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from
1985 to 1989, and a Staff Fellow/Senior Staff Fellow
from 1990 to 1998 with the National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA) Intramural Research Program, Neuroscience and Molecular Neurobiology Branches. She
joined the faculty of the UND School of Medicine and
Health Sciences in 1998.

Vaughan carries a full teaching load, with both undergraduate and graduate course responsibilities. She
has been recognized for excellence in both teaching
and service efforts, including mentoring of junior
faculty and the design of the medical school curricu-

Dissertation: Exploring the Paths to Homelessness: An Ethnographic Study of
How Disability, Educational Achievement, Gender, Foster Care and
Poverty Impacted the Lives of Two Townsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Homeless Shelter
Residents

Advisor: Dr. E. Janie Pinterits

Aaron David Kennedy, Rockford, Illinois
Major: Atmospheric Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Marcus Weaver-Hightower

Dissertation: Evaluation of a Single Column Model at the Southern Great Plains
Climate Research Facility

The University Marshals
A tradition since the early years of the University of
North Dakota, the University Marshals serve as the
honorary marshals and ushers for commencement
exercises. They are selected primarily from the junior
class on the basis of academic excellence.

A UND faculty member, chosen
from the ranks of the Chester Fritz
Distinguished Professors, carries
the University flag and leads the
commencement procession.
The Faculty Flag Marshal at todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
ceremony is Mark Hoffmann, Chester
Fritz Distinguished Professor of Chemistry.
Hoffmann has been a UND faculty member since 1988, and was
named a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor in 2006. He served
as chair of the Chemistry Department from 2003 to 2010, during
which time the Department received the Founders Day Award for
Excellence in Research. He has served as EPSCoR (Experimental
Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) Co-Project Director
since 2008, and currently is the Associate Vice President of Research
Capacity Building.
His expertise is in the development of new theoretical methods
to describe quantum effects in molecular electronic structure, and
the computational implementation and use of those methods for
describing reactive and unusually bonded molecules. Of specific
interest are molecules relevant to combustion and atmospheric
chemistry, and the elucidation of the behaviors of catalysts of energy
relevance.
He has authored more than 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals,
and is a frequent invited speaker at national and international
meetings.

Student Honor Medallions
Honor Medallions are worn by candidates for the bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree who have at least 50 graded hours from the University of North
Dakota and achieve a scholastic average of 3.50 (cum laude), 3.70 (magna cum laude), and 3.90 (summa cum laude) in courses completed
at the University of North Dakota. For the purpose of the commencement program and publication, honors are based on the UND grade
point average at the end of the previously completed term. Once final semester grades are recorded and the degree has been cleared by the
college, grade point averages are recalculated and final graduation honors are recorded to the transcript and diploma.

14

Commencement Speaker
Rebecca Weaver-Hightower, Associate Professor of English specializing in Postcolonial
Studies, examines and compares literatures of former British colonies. She teaches
a range of courses on postcolonial and British literatures and film, as well as science
fiction and popular culture. She has given over 40 presentations and published over 20
articles and reviews on a range of postcolonial literatures and films, everything from
little-read 19th-century Australian novels to popular, blockbuster films like Indiana
Jones, Tomb Raider, and District 9 — all in the aim of better understanding the mindset
of colonizers and how literature and film influenced that process for good or ill. For
example, one of her book publications, Empire Islands: Castaways, Cannibals and Fantasies
of Conquest in Post/Colonial Island Narratives (Minnesota, 2007), examines a range of
island castaway tales (like Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson) in order to
better understand how those stories helped colonizing cultures make sense of and
perhaps even feel better about claiming land already inhabited by others.
Weaver-Hightower is currently writing a book, titled Frontier Fictions: Writing Remorse
in the Settler Colony, which compares South African, Canadian, Australian, and
American 19th century literatures about settlers in order to better understand the settler
experience. It focuses particularly on how stories may have helped new immigrants deal with the difficult feelings inherent
in colonial contact, such as anxiety over failure and guilt over displacing indigenous peoples. She hopes to spend part of
2012-2013 in South Africa finishing this book. One of the joys of Weaver-Hightower’s work is that it requires international
travel to dig through stacks of old books in libraries and archives and simply learn about the cultures she studies. As well
as working in South Africa, Canada, and Australia multiple times, she has traveled throughout Europe and most recently
in China. Her goal is to have travelled to all of the world’s continents. South America is next; Antarctica will be the most
challenging!
Weaver-Hightower has been recognized for her work and service both locally and nationally. She was chosen as this year’s
recipient of the UND Thomas J. Clifford Faculty Award for Graduate Teaching Excellence, served as one of North Dakota
State University’s Summer Scholars (an honor reserved for nationally recognized scholars), and was the recipient of the
Elmer and Min West Faculty Award (2010). She came to North Dakota from South Carolina but has come to adapt to if
not embrace the climate and loves the people of North Dakota. She is partner to Marcus Weaver-Hightower, Associate
Professor of Educational Foundations and Research and mother to a 4-year-old son, Harrison with an as-yet-unnamed
daughter on the way, and another daughter, Matilda, lost on this day (Aug 5) five years ago.

Special Notices
Today’s UND Commencement Ceremony is being shown live on Grand Forks Cable Channel 3 and will be rebroadcast on August 10, 11,
12 and 13 at 12:30 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 8:00 p.m. DVD copies of the ceremony can be purchased for $15.50 plus tax and shipping through
the University of North Dakota Bookstore. To purchase a copy, contact the Bookstore at 701-777-4980.
A professional photographer will take a picture of graduates as they receive their degrees. This photograph will be made available for
purchase by a mail contact in the days following commencement.
Whether the individual is the first or last to receive a degree in the graduation ceremony, the conferring of that degree is a very special
event for every graduate and family. To this end, it is requested that everyone remain seated until the conclusion of the commencement
ceremony.

15

Honorary Degrees Awarded
Honorary degrees have long been awarded by
institutions of higher learning to recognize lives
of achievement. In 1909, UND presented its first
honorary degree, a Doctor of Laws, to Webster
Merrifield, who served the University for 25
years, including 18 as its third president.
Honorary degrees from UND particularly
recognize those with an association with the
University or with the state and region; they
also have been presented to such notables as
philosopher Mortimer Adler, heart surgeon
Michael DeBakey and President John F. Kennedy.
1909,
1913,
1914,
1916,
1918,
1922,
1925,
1928,
1929,
1930,
1930,
1931,
1932,
1933,
1933,
1934,
1935,
1936,
1937,
1938,
1938,
1938,
1939,
1939,
1941,
1941,
1943,
1943,
1943,
1944,
1944,
1944,
1945,
1945,
1946,
1946,
1946,
1947,
1947,
1947,
1948,
1948,
1948,
1948,
1948,
1948,
1949,
1949,
1949,
1949,
1950,
1950,
1951,
1951,
1951,
1951,
1951,
1952,
1952,
1952,
1953,
1953,
1954,

The 2011 Honorary Degree Recipient
The University of North Dakota held its first
commencement on June 14, 1889, the same year North
Dakota became a state. Six women and two men received
diplomas during a ceremony filled with oratory and
reflection on the University’s beginnings. In 1909, UND
presented its first honorary degree, a Doctor of Laws, to
Webster Merrifield, who served the University for 25 years,
including 18 as its third President.

UND would host a project called
the “E Government Initiative.”
The goal of this project was to
help citizens gain online access to
government services and ensure
the future security of transactions
through Smart Card technology.
Over time, the project would
be renamed the Government
Rural Outreach program and
the Rural Service delivery
program.

Honorary degrees have long been awarded by institutions
of higher learning to recognize lives of achievement.
Honorary degrees from UND particularly recognize those
with an association with the University or with the state
and region.

In 2002, Mellem was invited
to join the College’s Advisory
Council and would serve three
three-year terms. He proposed
the creation of the Government and Business Symposium, a
highly successful project blending input from business and
public administration and giving students firsthand exposure to
government operations.

At the summer commencement, the University will confer
an honorary Doctor of Letters degree upon Kenneth L.
Mellem.
KENNETH L. MELLEM

With his broad international background, Mellem made vital
contributions to achieving a global perspective for the College of
Business and Public Administration. He began teaching a range
of courses at UND’s partner institution in China, the University of
Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST), beginning in 2002.
This has grown to become a true exchange program, with UND
business students going to China each summer.

Kenneth Louis Mellem had an extensive career in the computer
industry and a long record of service to the University of North
Dakota and its College of Business and Public Administration. He
passed away in Edina, Minn., on June 26, 2010, at the age of 66.
A native of Grand Forks, Mellem attended UND, earning a
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1966 and a
Master of Science in marketing in 1968. He also attended Stanford
University’s marketing program and studied international finance
at Insead, France.

Mellem was instrumental in establishing the Marketing
Department’s highly successful Executive Seminar Series. He
served the College of Business and Public Administration in other
capacities and on the UND Alumni Foundation Board.

Between 1980 and 1986, Mellem held several positions with the
Cybernet Company, including vice president for marketing and
sales and corporate vice president. He was responsible for the
performance of 1,000 employees in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and
South Africa.

In 2006, J.R. Kirkland proposed to honor Mellem and his wife,
JoAnn, by establishing the annual Mellem Business Symposium.
Supported by private gifts and sponsorships from J.R. Kirkland
and State Farm Insurance, the event hosts speakers on a variety of
business topics, including telecommunications, banking, energy
and branding.

In 1986 Mellem joined the renowned computer firm Control
Data. He established a European headquarters and a sales force
extending eventually into the Eastern Bloc and the Middle East.
From 1988 to 1992 he was vice president and general manager of
Control Data’s Computer Products Group, both North and South
American divisions. In 1990 he was presented the prestigious
Chairman’s Black Diamond Award in recognition of outstanding
performance.

In 1985, Mellem was inducted into UND’s Athletic Hall of Fame,
recognizing his remarkable record as a golfer. As a sophomore,
he was the low scorer in all team events. As a junior, he was the
low man in three of 10 matches, and in his senior year he was
the low scorer in eight of 10 matches. He won three straight
North Central Conference golf championships from 1964 to
1966. Mellem was a longtime member of the Edina, Minn.,
Country Club and the Bayou Club in Florida, where he was club
champion. He was also an avid skier and hunter.

From 1992 to 2001, Mellem led a series of corporate restructuring
efforts across the high-tech industry. He served as vice president
and general manager of International Computers Ltd., with offices
in the United Kingdom and Virginia, and then as executive vice
president of Secure Computing Corporation, Roseville, Minn.

Kenneth Louis Mellem, a resident of Eden Prairie, Minn., and
Largo, Fla., died June 26, 2010, after a short illness following
complications from leukemia therapy. He was survived by his
wife, JoAnn; son, Steven; daughter, Suzanne (Drew) Bergstrom;
grandson, Evan; and brother, Jim (Kendall) Mellem.

As president and CEO of GEONIX, a St. Petersburg, Fla., firm
dedicated to geo-mapping services, he took the company out of
bankruptcy to allow purchase by a competitor in 1999. He then
oversaw the growth of Tritheim, a firm developing “Smart Card”
technology that was then purchased by a supply chain partner.
Later, he was the senior vice president and COO of the Reader
Solution Group, a division of Infineer.
A longtime supporter of his alma mater, Mellem contacted the
College of Business and Public Administration in 2000 to inquire if

17

Academic Pageantry
The pageantry of American colleges and universities, including
such ceremonies as commencement, has been inherited from the
medieval universities of the 11th and 12th centuries. Academic
life as it is known today began in the Middle Ages, first in the
church and then in the guilds. The teaching guild was the Guild
of the Master of Arts, in which the Bachelor was the apprentice of
the Master and the dress was the outward sign of privilege and
responsibility.

traditions have been continued. To maintain continuity with the
past, University of North Dakota faculty, the stage officials and
the degree candidates will wear academic dress.
Principal features of academic garb are the gown, cap and hood.
Early it became necessary for universities to set rules to preserve
the dignity and meaning of academic dress. Both Cambridge
and Oxford since the 15th century have made academic dress a
matter of university control even to its minor details, and have
repeatedly published revised regulations. American universities
agreed on a definite system in 1895.

The ceremony you will witness today will be less formal than
would have been the case even two decades ago. Still, many

Academic Dress
THE GOWN. The flowing gown comes from the 12th century.
While it originally may have been worn as protection against
the chill of unheated buildings, it has today become symbolic of
the democracy of scholarship, for it covers any trappings of rank
or social standing underneath. It is black for all degrees, with
pointed sleeves for the bachelor’s degree recipient, long closed
sleeves with a slit at the arm or wrist for the master’s degree,
or full bell double sleeves for the doctoral degree. Bachelor’s
and master’s degree gowns have no trimming. For the doctoral
degree, the gown is faced down the front with velvet and has
three bars of velvet across the sleeves in the color distinctive of the
faculty or discipline to which the degree pertains.

College of Business and Public Administration; black and white,
John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences; blue and white,
College of Education and Human Development; orange, School
of Engineering and Mines; purple, School of Law; green, School
of Medicine; apricot, College of Nursing; black, Graduate School.
For undergraduate students, the tassels hang on the right side of
the cap until they receive their degrees, at which time the tassel is
moved to the left. For master’s students, the tassel hangs on the
left side of the cap and is not moved.
THE HOOD. The hood is trimmed with one or more chevrons
of a secondary color on the ground of the primary color of the
college. The color of the facing of the hood denotes the discipline
represented by the degree; the color of the lining designates the
university or college which granted the degree. The official colors
of the University of North Dakota, selected by the student body in
preparation for the institution’s first commencement in 1889, are
the pink and green of the prairie rose.

THE CAP. Under Roman law, a slave that had been set free
received the privilege of wearing a cap. The academic cap is a sign
of freedom of scholarship, and of the responsibility and dignity
with which scholarship endows the wearer. Ancient poetry
records the cap of scholarship as square to symbolize the book.
The color of the tassel denotes the discipline. At the University of
North Dakota, the tassel colors associated with academic divisions
are: white, College of Arts and Sciences; drab (subdued orange),

Ceremonial Objects
THE MACE. The mace was initially modeled after a 12th century
implement of war. In earlier days, the mace, or heavy staff, was
borne by or carried before a magistrate or other dignitary as
an ensign of authority. A mace is placed as the symbol of royal
authority on the treasury table in the British House of Commons
at the opening of each session and is removed at its close. In the
U.S. House of Representatives, it is a rather plain staff mounted
in a marble pedestal at the right hand of the Speaker. The mace of
the University of North Dakota symbolizes authority to carry out
its mission, especially the granting of degrees. Made from the oak
of the University’s first building, “Old Main,” the mace is carried
by a marshal during academic processions and is placed at a
prominent spot on the stage during commencement.

of the seal eventually became a symbol of authority. One side of
the medallion worn by the president bears an engraving of the
University’s official seal and the names of all former presidents
are included on the chain of office.
THE CHARTER. The University of North Dakota was founded
six years before North Dakota became a state. The original,
handwritten charter, enacted in 1883 by the Dakota Territorial
Assembly, is preserved in UND’s archives. One facsimile is
displayed in the President’s Office and another is used at
commencements and other special occasions.
THE UNIVERSITY FLAG. The University flag features the
UND flame logo set on a white background. The flag is used
at ceremonial events and is carried by the honorary faculty
flag marshal to lead the commencement procession. The flag is
displayed on the stage during the commencement ceremony
along with the mace and charter.

THE MEDALLION. A medallion or seal of office worn by the
head of an educational institution is a practice that also dates
to the Middle Ages. In those times, a seal was used to mark
documents as official. Possession of the seal was so important that
it was usually worn around the neck for safekeeping. The wearing

18

THE AWARDING OF DEGREES and academic distinctions listed in this program
is contingent upon successful completion of the various requirements.
Commencement ceremonies at UND are planned through the Office of Ceremonies
and Special Events in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.
The University of North Dakota is an equal opportunity/affirmative action
institution. For more information on equal opportunity policies and procedures,
see UND catalogs and other major printed pieces.
BELOW: Water cascades down the sides of the granite fountain
located near the Hopper-Danley Chapel.